Hellsing Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness and Light ❯ Chapter 3: A New Task ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

"There are two sorts of curiosity -- the momentary and the permanent. The momentary is concerned with the odd appearance on the surface of things. The permanent is attracted by the amazing and consecutive life that flows on beneath the surface of things."

Anime/Manga: Hellsing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Horror | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.27.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.7K | Visits: 284 | Status: Work In Progress

Chapter 3: A New Task

Seras yawned as she walked towards her room in the underground barracks of the Hellsing Manor. She had her coat tossed up and hanging off of her shoulder as she slowly walked down the hallway, knowing full well than no one down here was awake yet. Without the coat, you could see she wore a black sweater that ended right below where her pants began. She covered another yawn as she thought about getting a watch then realized that it would be pointless for her. She paused outside her own room to think about how nice it must be to watch a sunset, after all she hadn't seen one for quite some time. A small smile covered her face when she remembered something that Alucard had mentioned to her about sunlight.

“It won't kill you like all those folk legends say. However, I fucking hate it.”

She suppressed a chuckle upon remembering the expression the elder vampire had used when he had said that. She was broken out of her reverie when she noticed somebody was watching her. “What is it?” She asked without turning around, her voice tired and sounding quite annoyed.

Whoever it was seemed to be scared as she said that; she could hear someone take a step back. From the sound of it, it was a male's footstep too. She looked over her shoulder to see the survivor from the night before staring at her with a confused expression that was partially mixed with fear. Seras didn't pay attention last night but now she took the time to study his appearance. He was about 6 feet tall with a black haired crew cut. His eyes were green and he had a small degree of stubble surrounding his face. He was wearing the default uniform, the green combat fatigue, only the arm on the left side was missing. This was probably due to the rather large cast that covered the man's forearm.

The man flinched under the vampire's observation so Seras asked again. “Well, what is it?”

The man scratched the back of his head in confusion, as if unsure of how to phrase what he was going to say. Finally he just took a deep breath and said, “Thanks for last night.” He gave a lopsided smile as he said it, giving the man a rather goofy appearance.

Seras turned around and leaned against her door. “Your welcome, Lieutenant Griphten. Try to make sure not to screw up again, I might not be there to save your backside next time.” She said, letting her expression go neutral. The man paled at her comment and looked away in embarrassment. Is this guy really capable?

Finally he realized something and looked up. “How'd you know my name?” He asked, genuinely confused.

Seras lied and pointed to the bar on his uniform that bore his family name. “I saw your rank last night, your name this morning.” She said, her expression softening. The man's eyes glazed over in understanding and he looked back to her.

“Well thank you Miss Victoria.” He said again.

Seras shrugged, feeling the wave of exhaustion bearing down on her. She decided to ignore it for the time being. Its been a long time since I've had conversation other than with the Hellsing family. “So what are you doing awake so early Lieutenant?” She asked, a small smile set on her face.

He shrugged. “I can't go on any training missions for sometime due to my injury so I figured I would fall back into my habit of running in the morning.” She seemed to nod in understanding as he looked the woman over. “What are you doing up?”

She sighed, “I just got back from hunting. I'm going to sleep.” The man seemed to pale as she said this, as if he just remembered what she was. She turned to go into her room when she paused. “That was a good move by the way.”

“Huh?” The praise seemed to confuse the young soldier, not really knowing what the woman was talking about.

“Your move with that hidden knife last night. Wounded and outnumbered you were still willing to fight that freak.” She said, still not looking at him.

The man scratched his head at the odd compliment, “Well, I used to be a member of the London police. I think that was mostly desperation though. When I think about it, it seems pretty stupid. There's no way I could've defended myself if he attacked me again.”

Seras turned around and gave a small laugh at the man's comment. “I used to be in D11.” She stated casually. The man's eyes flickered up.

“D11? Wow, when was that?”

Seras shrugged. “Let's put it this way, I'm old enough to be more than your grandmother.”

The man tilted his head, as if examining the woman. Seras said nothing, merely watched as the young man looked her from both sides and her front. He sighed, “You don't look older than twenty.” He remarked with a hint of amusement. His eyebrow lifted up slightly and he asked, his voice dripping with curiosity, “How old are you?”

Seras laughed openly and turned around. “Don't you know its rude to ask a lady her age?”

“Whatever.” He said, leaning against the far wall while talking to her. I would never believe it if I wasn't in Hellsing. She looks totally normal, and anyone seeing her would see her as a normal young woman.

Seras looked over her shoulder and locked eyes with the soldier. He gulped as he stared into those crimson windows and felt as if she was looking directly into his soul. Her gaze was unnerving to say the least. “You sensed him didn't you?” The tone of her voice had dropped from the playful and tired banter she had been used before to a very serious and cold demeanor.

“What?” The question threw the soldier for a loop. He didn't really know what she was talking about anymore.

“Never mind. Good night Lieutenant.” She said as she walked into her room and closed the door. The Lieutenant merely stared at the closed door in confusion then continued on his run. Behind the door, Seras chuckled to herself at the realization. He doesn't even realize it yet. Then again, he might have just been lucky. I'll need to run a few tests on him. It would be…useful if he does turn out to have abilities. That was the last thought Seras had before she collapsed into her coffin-like bed and went to sleep.

“You want me to do what?” Seras asked in disbelief. She raised her eyebrow at the leader of Hellsing as she repeated her question, a shocked look covering her face. The man sighed. He tossed a manila folder towards her, then rotated in his chair to face away from the woman. Seras frowned at the cold treatment and bent over to pick up the folder. She opened it up and scanned the contents inside.

The first piece of information was a photograph of an old building, run down and abandoned from the looks of it. As Seras began to read through the file, the man at the desk began to speak. “Earlier tonight we monitored radio traffic within the London police regarding this location. Our intelligence believed this place to be home to a small group of freaks. The intel believes that they have been hiding since they have been turned, only committing small crimes in order to get by. It is doubtful even if they have created any ghouls yet.”

Seras looked up from the folder. “So what? If they haven't had any blood yet, they are going to be insanely week. A normal infiltration team could take them out, why me?”

The man turned in his chair to face her, his face stone cold. “Earlier tonight, the group abducted a family and issued ransom demands. Part of which is, what I have been told, could be a month's worth of medical blood.” Seras frowned at this but said nothing. The man looked her in the eyes and said, “The London police have already acted and has sent in D11.”

Seras cursed under her breath. Damn fools, they know to call us when a situation like this occurs. D11 overstepped their boundaries again. “So, has the first team been annihilated yet?” She asked coldly. The man blinked at her response, expecting something more than that.

“They lost contact with the team they sent in. That was approximately forty five minutes ago. The deadline for the ransom is for two more hours.”

Seras tossed the folder back on the desk. “So send in a team. The police know to call us in situations like this. Somebody deserves to have their ass chewed out for trying to play hero.”

The man nodded in agreement and reached for a cigar from its case. He light it and swiveled in his chair. There was a long silence until Lord Hellsing said, “Victoria, I want you to take a team there. Diffuse the situation.”

Seras glared at the man as he ignored her. Why send me? You have human commanders you could get to do this. Sensing that she would not win this fight, Seras sighed in defeat. “Get the paperwork ready. I want all authority in this case to be transferred to Hellsing immediately. I'll also need a team of seven men, at least five veterans.”

Lord Hellsing nodded in response to the requests. “Consider it done. I can have a team ready for you in ten minutes.”

Seras nodded and then let out a small grin. “Have Lieutenant Griphten accompany the team. He will act as the command center.”

The man looked at her for the first time since doling out the assignment. “Why? He's injured, its not like he can be of any use.” He paused then asked another question, “Besides that, its not like you to ask for a team for assistance. I'm sure you can take them out on your own.”

Seras shook her head as if scolding a child. “It'll be less suspicious if there is a team to assist. Besides, intel has been known to be wrong from time to time. I will not engage them if there are no non-humans inside.” She glared at the leader of Hellsing. “I will clean up their mess if it's the work of freaks, not if they just screwed up.”

“But it won't be suspicious to bring an injured man?” The man asked, putting out his cigar in a small tray on his desk. He paused for a moment then asked, “Does this have to do with why you wanted to know who he was?”

Seras nodded as she left the room. As she vanished into the darkness he heard her say, “If I'm right about him, he should be placed in Division S.”

Lord Hellsing blinked at her comment. Division S? Why would a man like him, who got his whole team killed and himself injured on his first mission as squad leader be placed in that elite group? Division S was a section of Hellsing that only a few knew about. Basically, promising soldiers were taken from their normal groups, either due to having certain attributes that aided in hunting vampires on a more intense scale than normal, or if they seemed to possess certain abilities. Division S was set up by one of the earlier leaders of Hellsing in order to compensate for a low number of men. To say the least, these men could compare with division thirteen of the Vatican's special forces, the Iscariot order.

He then shook his head to clear the confused thoughts running through his head in order to deal with the task at hand. He pushed a button on his desk, “Christopher, prepare a small infiltration team. Seven men, have them report outside Hellsing manor. Have Lieutenant Griphten accompany them as well. Prepare one of our vehicles as well.”

A deep voice came through the other end, “Of course, Lord Hellsing.” Lord Hellsing deactivated the intercom switch and clasped his hands together. We should not be dealing with such trivial matters, I'll need to speak again with the commissioner in order to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. He paused for a moment then smiled, I'm surprised she didn't tear my head off. I can't say I don't feel sorry for those freaks that she is going to kill though.

& nbsp; ~

The situation inside the Hellsing armored van was tense. The soldiers all sat in silence, their weapons draped across their laps. The masks were already up over their faces and they all had one thing on their minds. And that was the young woman sitting in silence in the back of the van with her eyes closed. Most of them knew who she was, and were downright terrified of her. The fact that she seemed pissed didn't help matters as even those who did not know of her were afraid to ask the veterans who she was. After a short drive, a voice called into the back. “Miss Victoria, we've arrived.”

Seras opened her eyes and looked over the small group. She spoke, her voice level and cold. “Listen up. Here is the situation, an unknown number of freaks are holding a family hostage, which until we know otherwise we will assume are still human and alive. You will follow my orders in this infiltration.” One man looked as if he was about to say something but Seras cut him off with a dirty look. “Not up to deliberation. If you don't like it, take it up with Lord Hellsing.” She paused for a moment, watching the man pale and back off. “Lieutenant Griphten!”

“Yes sir.” Came the voice of the man sitting in the front seat next to the driver.

“You don't have to call me sir. You will act as our command line.” She then turned back to the rest of the group. “All of you are to stay within site of each other. You will enter from the front entrance and proceed from there. Coordinate your moments with the Lieutenant. Is that understood?” She asked in a commanding voice.

“Yes sir!” Came seven voices in unison.

Seras grabbed her head in annoyance and continued, “I will come in from the roof. Wait until I give the order before starting your infiltration.”

“Understood.”

Seras opened the back door of the van and jumped out. She was met by the usual chaos of police officers and reporters, trying to ascertain who the new arrivals were. One reporter stuck a microphone in Seras' face who she prompted pushed to the ground with one hand. She grabbed the collar of one of the policemen and said loudly over the noise, “Take me to who's in charge.” She then pointed to the crest on her coat and the man nodded in understanding.

“This way please.” The man yelled through the noise, leading a way through the reporters and policemen. Seras motioned to her men and had them follow as well. Seras frowned at the scene. A line of policemen were holding the crowd of reporters and curious onlookers back. She grabbed her head in annoyance and thought who is the idiot who let this go public?

The group from Hellsing was brought to a command tent set up in between two armored vans. The policeman walked over and talked to a man who was dressed in thick Kevlar armor and had a machine slung across his chest. Seras recognized the uniform of D11 and the bars on the man's shoulder denoted his rank as captain. The captain looked at the policeman as if he were speaking another language then turned to Seras. Seras nodded once and led her men towards the tent. The man wearing body armor looked at Seras in disbelief and said, “You're from Hellsing?” He asked, his voice sounded as if he had just been insulted.

Seras nodded once, “Affirmative. As of now, this operation falls under the juristdiction of the Hellsing institution. You will remain on site to assist, but as of now all authority has been transferred to the Hellsing institution.”

The man looked shocked. “Preposterous. That is the craziest thing I've ever heard. Who do you think you are?”

Seras glared the man down and asked in response, “And were you the one who ignored the order that all cases of this nature fall into our jurisdiction?” The man spit off to the side and said nothing as he crossed his arms and glared at Seras. “Because of your pride, some of your men are now dead, or worse.”

“Why you little…” The man said, his fists clenching into fists. Seras said nothing at this. “I don't need to hear that from someone who could pass for my daughter.”

Seras let out a sick grin as she reached into her pocket and withdrew a piece of paper. “If you don't like it, take it up with her majesty.” She said as she pushed the paper containing the seal of the Queen into his chest and knocked him to the ground. She began to walk past him but stopped and added, “And just for your information, I'm older than you are.” She then continued straight into the command post. Her men followed shortly after, leaving the captain sitting on the ground in shock.

The command post was in a frenzy with men waiting on stand by to try and storm in. Seras watched them as she walked in, knowing full well that they would not take kindly to Hellsing's authority, much like the man outside. Two men were dressed in suits and waiting by a phone that had been set up on the table. One was smoking a cigarette and grabbing her head as if his head hurt. Seras looked over her shoulder and gestured to Griphten. “Lt. Griphten, I want you to set up the com-link a.s.a.p.” She declared loud enough to grab everyone's attention.

“Understood.” Came the man's voice as he walked past the other soldiers towards an empty table.

Seras turned back to the tent and declared loudly, “This operation is now under the jurisdiction of the Hellsing organization. We are now in charge.” She noticed that the captain had walked into the tent and she looked at him and spoke. “I need a set of blueprints for the building, as well as where you believe the hostages and hostiles are.”

The man glared at her in silence but slowly nodded and said, “Consider it done.” He left in order to get the blueprints and Seras turned back to her men. “I want you to prepare. Wait for my signal before the infiltration. I want you working with Lt. Griphten to coordinate your penetration.” She then grabbed one of the policemen walking past her and she said to him, “Move those people back. I don't care if you have to beat them half to death, make sure they are at least fifty more meters away.”

The policeman saluted her and went outside to fulfill the order as the captain returned with the blueprints and handed them to Seras. “These are the blueprints. We believe…” Seras held up a hand to cut him off. She moved towards the table that Griphten was setting up at and laid the prints down on the table. Both men noticed this and approached the building plans. The captain began again, “We believe the hostages are being held in this floor here,” He said, circling a room with a black marker. “There are no windows and it seems the mostly likely place to keep the hostages. Its on the second floor and towards the middle of the building.”

Seras nodded in understanding. She held out her hand for the marker and when the captain gave it to her she began to draw a series of lines with arrows. “Lt. Griphten, this is the path that our team is going to take. Call over the team leader and discuss it with him before you go in.”

“Affirmative.”

She then pulled out the other part of the blueprints. “I will enter this way, and attack from here.” She said, marking a room on the third floor.

The captain of the police scratched his head, “Um…isn't that the third floor?”

Seras nodded and let a small smile cross her face, “Yes, it is.” When she saw the confused look on the man's face she merely chuckled to herself and said, “Trust me.” She looked up and back towards the two men in suits and asked, gesturing with her thumb, “Who are the suits?”

The man looked towards the men she was pointing at and shrugged. “Negotiators.”

Seras shook her head in annoyance. “Send them home. They aren't needed anymore.”

The man paled, “Wait, we may be able to negotiate a peaceful solution though.”

Seras glared at the man, “That might've worked before you sent a team of men into die.” She said coldly, causing the man to glare back at her in disdain. She then continued, “That might've worked before Hellsing was called in to fix this problem.” She then looked over her shoulder towards the men in suits then back to the captain. “Captain, our objectives differ from yours, you should understand that.”

His eye twitched as he asked, his voice angry and insulted. “What do you mean?”

Seras stared him down and then turned to the Lt. “Lt. Griphten, make sure the men know that destruction of the tangos overshadow the safety of the hostages. Try to avoid harming non-combatants though.” She said coldly.

“Roger that Victoria.” The Lieutenant turned away from the captain of D11 to finish what he was doing.

“You can't be serious.” The captain said as he stared at Seras in disbelief.

“Captain, this is not up debate. This is the way we work. Either get on board or your going to be left behind.” She held out her hand to Griphten and he handed her an earpiece without looking at her. She turned and walked away, leaving one man dumbfounded at her declaration and one to finish his job.

The captain began to follow her to speak to her once more but was stopped by Griphten. “Sir, I highly recommend you don't mess with her. I've heard she has quite a temper when pushed. She's been pissed off ever since Lord Hellsing gave her this job too.”

The captain shook his arm free from the man's grasp and said, “Brats are like that.”

Griphten smiled to himself and remarked quietly, “I shouldn't be telling you this but she's probably Hellsing's best operative.”

The captain turned to the man who had finished setting up the communications device and signaled for the team leader to come over to receive instructions. “That brat?” He spun to look at the retreating woman only to find that she had vanished. “Where'd she go?” He asked in confusion.

The team leader that had come up behind Griphten chuckled and said, “Probably the roof.” Griphten only nodded then began to explain the plan of attack to the man, leaving the captain standing there in a stunned silence.

Seras waited on the roof, grabbing her right wrist as she waited for her men to get into position. She found herself thinking about how this had been similar to how she had joined Hellsing. D11 had been sent into without authorization and everyone in her unit except her had been attacked and turned into ghouls. That crazy priest probably would've turned me if Alucard hadn't shown up. She grinned as she gently touched her neck, that hurt, but not as much as the bullet. Then again, I might have already gone numb from pain of the bullet. She raised her hand to her right ear, to where the com-link resided. She usually didn't use these devices since she normally hunted alone. She wore them in cases like tonight, where Lord Hellsing requested her to aid an infiltration team in order to make sure that she could minimize casualties or for special situations. She hated having to shoot ghouls wearing the uniform of Hellsing.

“Griphten, are we good to go?” She asked.

A voice crackled in her ear. “Roger that Victoria. Bravo team is waiting for your signal.”

Seras grinned, “How many vampires are there Griphten?” She asked. Seras already knew the answer, but it was time to test her theory.

“Unknown. We weren't supplied with that information.”

Seras grabbed her head in annoyance, Can he really sense them? “Give a guess Griphten. Concentrate and use your instincts.”

Griphten raised his eyebrow back at the tent at the odd request. What is she talking about? He then leaned back and closed his eyes. He almost fell out of his chair when he felt something. What was that? He wondered, looking around him. He unconsciously grabbed his cast and inhaled. He closed his eyes and focused again when he felt a dark presence, or rather, presences. Three… no four, definitely four of those dark feelings. “Four Victoria. I'm going with four. Who really knows though?”

Seras laughed loudly through the com-link. “There's hope for you yet Lieutenant.” She paused for a moment to allow herself a momentary smile. “All units proceed as planned. Begin the operation. In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen.” She said softly. She heard voices of confirmation in her earpiece as she began to walk towards the roof's staircase.

~DeathLover~